Tag Archives: Health Insurance

As many of you know, I started my ACOG presidency announcing 2013 as “The Year of the Woman” because for the first time we, as a nation, are investing in women’s health care with the Affordable Care Act. It is an investment in our future when we provide all women with preconception care, prenatal care, and contraception.

I spent last week in Washington, DC, discussing the impact of environmental chemicals on our reproductive health with our elected officials. And what a week it was! I saw firsthand the dedication of the furloughed employees who were trying to help everyone. I heard the frustration of many DC residents as they faced reduced work hours and uncertainty about what the next day or week will bring.

Amidst all of this chaos, the ACA’s health insurance exchanges opened for business. Yes, there are going to be some difficulties along the road with implementing health care reform, but there will be fewer of them when we work together to make health care changes a success.

I was in the hair salon recently and found out that the women working there had no health coverage. I opened my iPad and showed them how to enroll in Covered California. In no time, they logged in, found affordable benefits, and were singing its praises. These are working women who had gone without coverage because they could not afford it and their small businesses did not provide health benefits. All of these women—some young, some single moms—all shared one uncertainty: What would they do if they became sick? They had not even considered getting preventive health care.

We need our government to open for business, we need to work on our health care delivery system, and we need to remind everyone that women are finally getting what we said is essential all along: Screening for cervical and breast cancer, screening for intimate partner violence and depression, contraception coverage, and prenatal care. Worrying about not being able to afford or even get health insurance because of a pre-existing condition can now be a thing of the past. Losing your health insurance coverage during the course of a difficult disease when you need it the most can also be a worry of the past. What a wonderful year!

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If you’ve been to the pharmacy or doctor’s office lately, there’s a good chance that you noticed something different about your bill—there may not have been one. Depending on what type of insurance you have, you may now be eligible to receive all FDA-approved contraception and other preventive health services without a co-pay. This is due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a law with a lofty goal: overhauling our current health care system to provide the majority of Americans with affordable access to health care. While the intricacies of the ACA—and health insurance policies—are complex, it’s important for women to understand these most recent changes because they so specifically apply to us.

Whether or not you still have a co-pay for contraceptives depends on where you get your health insurance. More than half of people in the US get their insurance either through their job or by purchasing an individual insurance plan. Currently, the contraceptive coverage provision applies to most of these private plans. Insurance companies that adopted ACA policy changes early on may have already updated their plans to offer free contraception beginning in August 2012. As time passes, more plans will comply. However, there are some exceptions—some plans have grandfathered status that gives them more time to meet the terms of the new requirements, and some religiously affiliated organizations are currently exempt from providing this coverage.

State Medicaid programs already provide no-cost contraception to enrollees. The ACA expands Medicaid’s reach, potentially decreasing the number of uninsured women ages 19–64 from 20% to 8%. Many states are still hammering out exactly how Medicaid provisions will be implemented. ACOG is following this issue closely and supports the adoption of the ACA’s Medicaid expansion in all states.

So how can you find out whether your plan has changed and what new services are covered? You’ll need to ask a few questions and then update your records to be sure your health care team (you, your insurer, pharmacy, and your doctor) is on the same page:

Ask your employer or your health insurer whether the ACA has caused any significant changes to your plan. If so, what are they, and specifically, is contraception now covered without a co-pay?

If there are updates to your plan, be sure to notify your pharmacy and your doctor’s office and report any problems to your plan administrator or insurance company. It’s up to you to be sure you’re being charged correctly based on what your policy covers.

As an ob-gyn, I am thrilled by the increased availability of no-cost contraception that the ACA provides. Contraception is a basic health necessity for women. More access puts women in the driver’s seat, helping us avoid unintended pregnancy and take control of our reproductive health.

The lead up to the US Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been a bumpy road at best. But beneath all the rhetoric and partisanship surrounding the ACA lies a solemn and unfortunate truth: Too many Americans are uninsured, and lives are being lost because of it. An estimated 18,000 Americans between the ages of 25 and 64 die prematurely each year because they lack health insurance. The uninsured receive less preventive care, disease diagnoses at more advanced stages, and fewer medical interventions post-diagnoses than people with insurance.

The ACA is important and necessary legislation. It helps ensure insurance reforms that guarantee availability and renewability, prohibit preexisting condition exclusions, and prohibit gender rating—insurance reforms that will work best under an individual mandate. Beginning in 2014, the ACA prohibits new insurance plans from denying women coverage on the basis of pregnancy, previous cesarean delivery, history of domestic violence, or other preexisting medical conditions. These protections are landmark improvements in women’s health. The ACA also guarantees women direct access to obstetric and gynecologic care. My own state of Nevada and 42 other states already allow direct access—now, with this new national ob-gyn direct-access standard, all women in every state will no longer face costly and burdensome delays and denials.

Today’s Supreme Court ruling affirming the constitutionality of the ACA is a victory for women indeed. It gives the US Congress the opportunity to act now to improve the legislation to ensure that America’s practicing physicians are able to provide quality health care for all. ACOG supports the many elements of the ACA that have enormous potential to improve women’s health, and we urge all states to act swiftly to implement these important access and coverage guarantees.